Automobile sleeping and dressing unit



March 29, 1960 P. E. KAMPMEIER AUTOMOBILE SLEEPING AND DRESSING UNITFiled Jan. 19. 1956 m m m m 4rvazA/Ey 2,930,051 Ice Pa ented MaI-ZQ QEQ;

930 AUTOMOBILE ISLEEPINGAND DRESSING un- Ir Paul E. Kampmeier, La YemeCalif a; aatisafiqa ewat 5 ria Nw fii I 3 Claims. (CL-51119);

A'diiiitfernbodying theliny ntion is' of a typeinclndin g a a bedwljich'is' removably niount'edlto an au to nobile in a pdsition oyerlyingthe roof of theyehicle Ajoldable canopy orient extendsupwardly over thebed to forrn a isle'fiing enclosure which has the, adyantages of beingelgeyated above the ground, and of being very easily set,

IR-{11.0}:- use gbecause it is left attached 'to the top .of th ev.

autoniobile in both the sleeping and travelling conditions; Theleiiated. bed is niade easily accessible to" a nse y h' ,of a Short lder hfi 'a be i ia edate as? tgrheib d: t a

I iQ I bJ QF o h pres ent y n o w cp e ide;

a s e in limit f abc e e i whi t ev ilaax encloses afdressing are a at aside {of theiaiitoniobileg" within which a vperson may 'changehisclothes priorj to,- climbing u w d t 't b s-:1 qt is P RQS e. cqngsp Qmits opened-condition ,is idesigned to; (project laterally be'yond theside of thefaotomobile andto carry idsxw t dpwsatthes de oppesite a i h sht e d e s; Q eai psa -a hefl f y be re q bl tashsst i-t ab dmsbvsuitab sap he abate nd when t re v d, q ie t e P e en .s invention will bebettertmderstood from the io llowin'g dei ev ,s r ti a ...-t e. i a emod ment. ast' t si sthe ccomp n g dt w w h h ige 1 i a P rs ecti e v wpw n an ,a tqwbfle 2 a t a sed p s e ti e V w,peniaflrbmkse ..t .-.1?s.-i,1s inay ita "fia nta eispe imww H M a a .t 9 For et ..t .-.a emby;: a: 4 i an; enl r d. .ve t ea t se tion t ken. mi tia, --1 w se .i imsnta y. ers e e v w ewi sgfl a t et npey n py. f s tt sqllaaj 'si mannein which l s i tioaa dw I v Fig. 6 is iew sl1 owing the 'unit inincompletely esqa i ,e a s di i nf tt v lnlt std aw aer h v shown t a vn e t sc a v 9s a mmstbils x er wu l rigid m ta ssent a l e PPF-QHX.tfinq nemo 1 het e im t- .i eaatedlt .t evro tl tpf wa mob lea q i ifl easefl s d tionf t p e eqted i F a 6 w h re itbmb s is traveling. When itis desiredto prepare theunit for sep gt k is, o ene t t e. ndition sh wa n 'Fi s;- 1: v 'nstitg-v i fflw i fihe an 1 sa t -l es et n ovcra bed14f which extends horizontally ab oye the roof 117 P t it msb' l Canopy,tq oi q l terally attached? to the front and [fet nds ofjthe b for, swig movement to a laterally pr'ojecting p on, in

which extends horizontally: oi twa'rdly -atthe the alitom obile Thefiaps'o'r flexible walls-defining the idi'n'g. framework: forsuoportingjhe canopy; is a drless ing area ia hang from "this bow Tocollaii slthei caiiofiiihebowiis merely s'wong fipwardlyand inwardly andtheir downwardly" ca essentially oyilie th'bed. i m

The rest of the canopy may be'suppor tedbyfine' and preferably twoadditionalbows, which may automatically swing between open and closedpositions in response. to:

movehnent of the first'mentioned .sid'e. bow.: Onejof a these.additional, bowsmay be. ,pivotalllyllattached .to the firsLbow, maritsopposite ends,. and may, carryprojm;v t-ions ladaptedkto engagethe.bed ;in a manner support; ing thetwo connected bows thereon. in;opened condition.

A third bow, rnay be pivotedto the oppositeendsyf the, f

s it

off the bed.

An'fadditional Vfeaturehof the invention, resides in the provision 'ofa' ,flap or" flaps for closing ofi the view bed at locations.near,. the.center of the trans t? e through 'o'ne or more of. the windows o'f "theal tot rio e, x

to cqrnplete the enclosure of the driessingfareja and pref: erablytoalso enclose the interiorof the automobile itself asaoo'rtion of th'edressi ng or isolated area: Siil'i '5 flip" may "hang :downwardly fro'm'the bed at locations to a close" oflE the front and rear windows, aswellv-as' ihei flx adl da9ft q tqshqbflevt e clo a dressingse q tsbstant elfi r a ae, the a d of t e-ammo? I The frame of bed isrectangular; and may, ha l horizontal rigid bottomiwall r1 typicallyforined of woodn .Along 'the oppositesides of frame 14,"ther e be ,apair of spac d parallel upwardly 'projecting sid' a l to -extendingmamma of t wi milar pair of upwa rldly projecting wall s 27 extending eeyt telx a tq et s e po i e d ff dhi the recess th n s f orrned by' thebed f r anie, there is post-5 tioned a rnattressilfi typically an;innerspringinattres s'. hi h mel- P a se; new! e a i ib yo upper edgesof frame walls 16 and17. The pillows f1? and other t w e, 9f. F rs? a pe 'i li i i atte?! t j s1 ,..1 I

I Th rigid fra n e 14is remoyably rigidly attached to the rloof'of theaiitornobile, andypreferably in sh ded relatinno the ro oi as seen'bestin Fig; 6. For

ing the bed frarne to the roof, I may i189 ypes 'of brackets a's f orinstance the typesh at 43,1 n Fig.' 4.1 Each1of these brackets mayinclude a rigid i netalgele nent 143 which projects downwardly E651 bedframe 14 into one of theraiii gutters 1 11 ofi'roofj attach 'lli fandea'cfh bracket may also include a clamping el' merit 2'43 which is tightena ble against lthe under 'side' oftheirin" glittei b'y aswiiigiag'cqm lever44. 1he e1"e-. ments 14'3 of clampsQ43 inaybe'ri'gidlyatt'ached is a pl i r ality 'of tubular'bar ts 50-which projectlaterally front and riijigiiiiitiaohfdio the bcd frame. in i I I Thetent-likefcanoby 13 is formed of any conventional opaqile te nti fabricmaterial, such as canvas, and sngported inLthl obened condition of Figs.1 and 2 by means of three lU-shafied rigid swinging bows or time members20;""21 and 22; which swiribetweeii opened and closed positiohs. Theopposite ends of the U-shaped V rigid bow20 are pivotallyattached at 23-to a pair of bral ets 24 attached stationarily-"to the'bed frames 14.These brack ets'24 are preferably-connected to ihc enid walls 17 of theframe closely .adjacente one side. oft the frame, .and mopntnbow 20 for.swingingmoyemmtgflbflm V a horizontal axis 25 extending longitudinallyof the auto mobile and'parallel to the side walls 16 of the bed frame.In the opened position of Fig. 2, bow 20 projects laterally andhorizontally a considerable distance beyond the side.

of the automobile, to define the previously mentioned dressing areaadjacentthe automobile. The length of the transversely extendingparallel arms 26 of bow 20' corresponds approximately to the length ofend walls 17- of the bed frame, so that when bow 20 is swung upwardlyand then inwardly and downwardly from the Fig. 2 position, bow 20overlies and rests on the two end walls 17 of the bed frame and the sidewall 16 which is located at the side opposite that from which bow 20projects in theopened position.

The second rigid U-shaped bow 21 has its two parallel arms pivotallyattached at 27 near their ends to 26 of bow 20 (at locations spaced ashort distance from pivotal connections 23). The connections 27 mounthow 21' for swinging movement relative to bow 20 about a longitudinallyextending axis parallel to axis 25. In the opened condition of thecanopy, how 21 may extend in a substantially directly vertical plane,and the lowermost ends of the vertically extending arms 28 of bow 21 mayproject downwardly into engagement at 29 withthe side wall 16 of the bedframe. Such engagement of the ends of bow 21 at 29 with the bed frameserves to effectively support bows 20 and 21 in their opened Fig. 2positions. As seen best in Fig. 5, the two parallel arms 28 of how 21are received at the inner sides of the arms 26 ofbow 20, so that whenthese two bows are swung to their collapsed positions overlying the bed,how 21" is contained within how 26. T

d The bow 20 is similar to bow 21, but has itsendspivotally. attached at30 to a pair of brackets 31 attached to bed end walls 17, which bracketsmay be located at approximately the middle of the transverseextent ofthe bed. The pivotal connections 30 mount how 22 for swinging movementabout an axis 130 which extends lengitudinally of the bed and parallelto axis 25. In its collapsed position of Fig. 5, how 22 overliesandrests' on the upper edges of bed frame walls 16 and 17, and bow 20directly overlies and rests on how 22. Preferably the axis 25 of bow 20is spaced higher than axis 130 of bow 22 a distance equal to thediameterof the tubing from which how 22 is formed, so that b'ow'2tl liesin a horizontal plane when in its collapsed position of support by bow22. As will be apparent from the draw i1 8, how 21 is essentiallycontained within how 20 in collapsed position.

The portion of canopy 13 which overlies bed 14 has two end edges 32which extend along and are removably attached to the outer sides of thetwo end walls 17 of the bed frame, as by space snaps 132. Along. theouter side of one of the walls 16 (the wall 16 which is farther away inFig. 2), canopy 13 has a side edge 133:

which is secured to that side wall 16, as by a series of snaps spacedalong edge 133. From this edge 133, the canopy 13 extends upwardly andinwardly over the longi tudinal portions of bows 22 and 21, and thencontinues. generally horizontally outwardly about the longitudinalportion of how 20, from which the canopy material ex tends downwardly toa location near the earth to form an; outer wall 33 of the enclosure.From end edges 32, the canopy material extends essentially verticallyupwardly in the vertical plane of the end portions of the bows 20, 2'1and 22, to merge with the top wall of the canopy at the bends formed inthe bows. These end walls of the canopy also extend laterally outwardlyin essentially the same vertical plane, and then extend downwardly fromthe horizontal arms 26 of bow 20, to form walls 34 de fining the ends ofthe dressing area adjacent the car. These walls or flaps 34, like theouter wall 33, extend to' positions closely adjacent but spaced a shortdistance from the earth (say about six inches above the ground). Walls33 and 34 may be tied down by suitable ropes 35 attached attached attheir opposite ends to the canopy material and extend about the bows.

A user climbs into the bed 14 by means of a short ladder 38, whose lowerend may engage the ground and whose upper end may lean against side wall16 of the bed. This ladder is sufficiently small to be received withinthe enclosed dressing area formed by walls 33 and 34 at the side of theautomobile.

In order to close off the windshield and rear window of the automobileand the windows at the opposite sides, I prefer to employ an opaqueelongated flap 39 formed of the same material as the canopy or tentitself, and adapted to be removably attached along its upper edge to thebed frame, typically by a series of snaps represented, at. 40. This flap39 may be sufiiciently long to extend alongthe front wall 17 of the bed,as seen in Fig. 2, and to thc n extend rearwardly along the one of theside walls 16 which is farther away in Fig. 2, and to then finallyextend alongand be attached to a second end wall 17. Front these threewalls 16, 17, and 17, the flap 39 hangs downwardly far enough toentirely close off the view through the windshield, rear window, and theouter side windows. Thus, flap 39 forms with the canopy an enclosurewhich encloses the interior of the automobile as well as the otherpreviously described enclosed areas. Whenv the apparatus is not in use,flap 39 may of course be easily detached from walls 16 and 17, byreleasing the snaps 40 which hold the upper edge of fiap 39 to thesewalls. If desired, the portion of fiap 39 which is at the side of thecar may contain screened windows similar to those shown at 137, forallowing air circulation, and of course adapted to be closed ed bysuitable opaque flaps such as those shown at 138.

In order to fold the illustrated sleeping apparatus from the Fig. 1 and2 position to the traveling condition of Fig. 6, thefirst step is toswing how 20 upwardly and inwardly and then downwardly from the Fig. 2position through that of Fig. 5 and until the bows 20, 21 and 22 overlieand are supported on the bed. As bow 20 is swung to its retractedposition, the swinging of bows 2'1 and 22 to their collapsed conditionoccurs automatically, The fabric of the canopy between the bows ofcourse folds to allow for such collapsing movement. When the bows are intheir retracted positions, the end walls or flaps 34 of the canopy maybe folded longi tudinally inwardly onto the bed, and a short overhangingportion of flap or wall 33 may be folded over the bed if necessary. Flap39 may be then detached and placed over the folded canopy and ladder 38may be placed on the bed also. With the entire unit thus in folded con-"dition, an essentially rectangular fabric cover 41 is placed over theentire folded unit. The edges of this cover extend downwardly about thesides of the bed, and carry snaps 42 which are releasably connectable tothe side ahd end walls 16 and 17 of the bed frame about the enf tire periphery of the bed. Thus, in a matter of a very few minutes, the entiresleeping unit is collapsed to the traveling condition of Fig. 6. To openthe unit, the above procedure'is' of course reversed, and as how 20 ismanuahy swung upwardly and outwardly'to its Fig. 2 position, thecanopy,and bows 21' and 22 automatically open to their Fig. 2 positions withoutthe necessity for any manual manipulation'of these other hows. If it isdesired to remove the entire unit from the automobile, brackets'43 allowfor such removal by merely swinging cam levers 44 of-the brackets tothus loosen the clamping elements 243. g

with regard to the proportioning of the partsof the apparatus, it isnotedthat walls 33 and 34 which define the side dressing area preferablyextend downwardly below the level of bed 14 a vertical distance which isgreater than the vertical distance from said level of the bed upwardlyto the top of canopy 13. This proportioning allows the canopy to mosteifectively enclose a the dressing area which is on a considerably lowerlevel than the elevated bed.

1 claim:

1. A sleeper unit adapted to be mounted to a closed automobile having arigid roof, a door on one side thereof, a windshield, and side and rearwindows, said unit comprising a bed, means for mounting said bed to theautomobile in essentially horizontal condition above the roof of theautomobile, a canopy of flexible sheet material foldable relative to thebed between an open condition and a closed condition for travel, saidcanopy in open condition forming a tent-like enclosure over said bed andhaving a portion projecting laterally beyond the one side of theautomobile to define the top of a dressing area at the one side of theautomobile, side walls of flexible sheet material adapted to dependsubstantially vertically downwardly from said canopy beneath the levelof the automobile roof and of the bed at the one side of'the automobileand long enough to reach approximately the ground level when saidbed ismounted above the roof of an automobile, said side walls enclosing thedressing area at its front, at its rear, and at an outer side thereofspaced outwardly from the automobile, flap means of flexible sheetmaterial depending downwardly from said bed along the front and back ofthe automobile and along the side opposite the one side to cover thewindshield, the rear window, and the windows at said opposite side inorder to close off the interior of the automobile together with thedressing area enclosed by said canopy and walls, and a folding frameconnected to said bed forsupporting said canopy and said walls in saidtent-like open condition and foldable with said canopy between said openand closed con ditions, said frame in its open condition projectinglaterally beyond the one side of the automobile to support laterallybeyond the one side of the automobile to define the top of a dressingarea at the one side orme' automobile, side walls of flexiblesheetmaterial adapted to depend substantially vertically downwardly from saidcanopy beneath the level of theautomobile roof and of the bed at the oneside of the automobile and long enough to reach approximately the groundlevel when sand bed is mounted above the roof of an automobile, saidside walls enclosing the dressing area at its front, at its rear, and atan outer side thereof spaced outwardly from the automobile, and afolding frame connected to said bed for supporting said canopy and'saidwalls in said tent-like open condition and foldable with said canopybetween said open and closed conditions, said frame in its opencondition projecting laterally beyond the one side of the automobile tosupport said canopy and said walls, said canopy and frame in closedcondition being folded inwardly from the one side of the automobile tocollapsed positions overlying the roof adjacent said bed, said canopy inopened condition projecting laterally over the dressing area at a highenough elevation and in such spaced relation to said bed as to allow aperson to climb freely into said bed directly from within the encloseddressing area, whereby the user has ready access from said bed to theside dressing area and through it to the interior of the automobilewithout leaving the enclosure formed by said canopy and side walls, saidframe including an essentially U-shaped first bow pivotally attached endportions engaging said bed in a relation supporting both bows thereon inthe open condition of said canopy.

3. A sleeper unit asrecited in claim 2 in which the frame includes athird bow pivoted to the front and rear of said bed at locations nearthe center of the transverse extent of said bed.

said canopy and said walls, said canopy and frame in closed conditionbeing folded inwardly from the one side of the automobile to collapsedpositions overlying the roof adjacent said bed, said canopy in openedcondition projecting laterally over the dressing area at a high enoughelevation and in such spaced relation to said bed as to allow a personto climb freely into said bed directly from within the enclosed dressingarea, whereby the user has ready access from said bed to the sidedressing area and through it to the interior of the automobile withoutleaving the enclosure formed by saidcanopy and side walls.

2. A sleeperunit adapted to be mounted to a closed automobile having arigid roof, and a door on one side thereof, said unit comprising a bed,means for mounting said bed to the automobile in essentially horizontalcondition. above the roof of the automobile, a canopy of flexible sheetmaterial foldable relative to the bed between an open condition and aclosed condition for travel, said canopy in open condition forming atent-like enclosure over said bed and having a portion projecting492,298 Johnson Feb. 21, 1893 1,229,534 Shattuck June 12, 1917 1,301,619Szemanski Apr. 22, 1919' 1,559,352 Nelson Oct. 27, 1925 1,623,507Thurtle Apr. 5, 1927' 1,764,328 Magill June 17, 1930 2,502,024 PocheMar. 28, 1950 r 2,513,411 Heil July 4, 1950 2,571,362 Hervey ,Oct.16,1951 2,627,865 Mitchell Feb. 10,

- I 2,640,999 Sheppard June 9, 1953 2,662,232 Daly Dec. 15, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 3,164 Great Britain of 1907 344,982 Italy Dec. 5, 1936 360,853Great Britain Nov. 9, 1931 377,669 Italy Jan. 2, 1940 1,057,013 FranceOct. 28, 1953 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS Masac Oct. 25,

